be real

nobody is perfect

Personally, I think I share the less glamorous side of life often on this blog with complaints about chronic pain, whining about the regenerating toy maze on my floor, and the stress of attempting  healthy meals  every.single.day.of.my.life (why do we have to eat so often?).  But my co-worker J.Bo, who is traveling to Poland in the hold of a cargo ship because he is "antique", was teasing me for presenting the perfect life on my blog. Maybe you guys want more grit and less adorable children? If so, this was a great week for it.  Things that were hard include trying to work full-time and take care of kids/house, finding childcare for anything, another day spent at the hospital with my dad for more tests, a  super busy week at work which I had to miss half of, tantrums, no time with Jake, back pain interfering with sleep, and having every hour of every day booked, just to name the low lights. If Nori didn't ask to open a door on the Advent calendar, I skipped it. Luckily for me, she can't read so when she did remember, Go ice skating turned in to Color a picture of a Christmas tree and Bake cookies turned in to Eat an apple.. If things ever seem too rosy, just remember I am covered in stickers bribing little girls to stop fighting over the pink sippy cup and just say Cheese. And I wouldn't want it any other way...except for the stickers. God, I hate the damn stickers everywhere.

Daddy Daughter Date to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Hen & I stayed home and danced to the playlist I made for her birth

Our school tours continued when we visited the following:

Yinghua Academy (Chinese Immersion)
I wanted to like this school more than I did. They didn't give the best presentation, but then again they don't need to because their reputation is stellar. Test scores in all areas are among the highest in the state and students become fluent in a  language that will allow many opportunities in the future. My concern is that they they seem to emphasize test scores more than social and emotional development and my girl is all about emotion and relationships. I worry about how she would do in a seemingly higher pressure environment... maybe she would thrive? It is a K-8 and has full-day day kindergarten which I like. Only 1 in 4 kids will get in next year so we will apply and if we get in, we will revisit the school and explore this concern. It is in Mpls with only 4  loooog bus routes for 90 zip codes so essentially we would need to provide transportation to and fro every single weekday  for the next eight years and it is not on the way to anywhere cool.


Groveland Park Elementary
My neighbors  love this school so I am sure it is quality, but again, they didn't exactly wow us with the presentation, lack of information, or chaotic school tour. It is a late start school which runs 9:30-4:00 so the hours alone are a challenge. We didn't learn much about their philosophy or what makes them special but they do offer art, music, PE in week long rotations and seem to have strong parental involvement. Second language is not part of the regular curriculum, but can be taken after school which seems to be trend in non-immersion schools.

gingerbread masterpiece

I'm sick!

Groceries, errands, yoga, tennis, Kinderflips, cleaning, laundry, and dishes. See, real boring life? Henny had a high fever of 103.5 so she was not herself much, poor baby. Hotel Seltz had another busy weekend when Grandma & Grandpa, Ellen, Charlie &  Sam stayed over to celebrate Christmas with Ellen before she went back to Holden Village.  Liz handmade the pasta for squash ravioli, Jake made the alfredo sauce, and Char made meatballs for spaghetti... it was delish!! Ellen handmade all her gifts this year and they were the coolest,  including a table runner woven on a loom, winter hats, felted mittens, and an awesome cowl. Imagine what we would have time for with no TV and Internet!

Charles' secret ingredient is veal

womanning the pasta crank

Yet another meal I did not make

Laura Ingalls Christmas

You may not have noticed, but it snowed today. My girls plays outside twice, once building a snowman with Grandpa and once helping Daddy shovel.  Dorothy enjoyed racing through the drifts too! Papa Michael is home after his stroke and doing very well!

snow bunnies

Boom! There's my coat from 1996!

Our cross dressing elf, Merida, is very forgetful and she seldom moves from her shelf